“The Magical Forest” series is available for episodic and broadcast use. For more information contact the producing organization: www.rmbCreative.com/contact-us

RMB Creative Associates is working with River House Productions to write and produce “The Magical Forest,” The program is currently a radio show and CD under copyright by River House Productions. The show is being restructured to have a greater focus on environmental issues and to have a “podcast friendly” format.

Why “The Magical Forest?”

THE EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGE

Experts in child development and education are expressing great concern over the amount of time children spend watching television and the type of television they watch. The explosion in the video and video game markets has magnified the problem. As a result, children are spending less time actively participating in other activities, including listening, imagining and reading. This is cause for alarm because children learn much more, and faster, through active participation in activities as opposed to the passivity with which they watch a video screen.

In 2012, there were 24.1 million children in the U.S. under five years of age, and an additional 24.5 million between the ages of six and eleven (unless otherwise noted all numbers and percentages are from the U. S. Census Bureau). It is estimated that, in 2005, 98.2% of households had at least one television and that the average number of televisions per household was 2.6 (a total of 248 million). It is estimated that, in 2006, the average American spent 2,175 hours involved with some form of media—television, video games, internet, etcetera. This averages out to almost six hours per day. Compared to media, the total average time spent reading books is approximately two hours per week. More children have access to television than have access to newspapers. It’s understandable why children are listening less and reading less.

For many families the television and its offspring perform the duties of baby-sitter, teacher, and even parent, providing much of the home education which, in the past, was performed by household members. However, most critics and parents agree, the general quality of television programming for children needs improvement.

THE CONCEPT

According to a study by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, many parents who work hard to put food on the table are starving their children of an essential nutrient -- quality time, the time parents spend reading, talking, or playing with their children. The study states that a child's intellectual growth is correlated with the "amounts of time American children spend in activities known to facilitate intellectual development."

“The Magical Forest’s” goals are to provide materials that will help “facilitate intellectual development" for children ages three to eight and to bring about a greater awareness of the environment. "The Magical Forest is hosted by Mac and Molly Bear, its two most famous and friendly inhabitants. Skits, recurring characters and special guests are all part of the mix, and each show ends with a story narrated by Mac and Molly.

The test marketing of the original “The Magical Forest" was an unprecedented success. Episodes were produced and aired in South Bend, Indiana, on WSBT 960 AM and Harvest 101.3 FM, on consecutive Sunday evenings to coincide with the target age group's bedtime period. Children and parents alike gave the program rave reviews and more than a thousand calls poured into the South Bend Tribune's City Line caller's hotline for answers to “The Magical Forest's” "Joke of the Week" following the first ten broadcasts.

The new program will continue to use the same characters and format as “The Magical Forest,” building on the success of the radio show. Each program will have a specific theme related to the environment and energy; themes will be chosen with the assistance of early childhood educational consultants and will be consistent with the goals of early childhood development. The written educational components will be developed with the input of these consultants and will include parent/teacher information as well as activity sheets for the child (parents and teachers will be able to download this material). “The Magical Forest” CD/activities packages will be entertaining and educational and will promote behavior that will help the child grow intellectually.

THE RATIONALE

It is widely accepted that the print and audio mediums stimulate the imagination to a far greater degree than video. In fact, some suggest that television actually inhibits a child's imagination. Although children under the age of 13 make up just one-fifth of the U.S. population, they account for 41 percent of all books purchased. However, because of the dominance of television as an electronic communication form in today's society, nonmusic audio programming targeted specifically at children is virtually nonexistent. "The Magical Forest" seeks to help fill that void.